European Union support for sustainable use and conservation of nature in developing countries

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1 European Union support for sustainable use and conservation of nature in developing countries The European Union has a strong and proud record of supporting conservation worldwide. Within the EU, it has created the largest network of protected areas in the world, Natura Globally, it works to protect animal and plant species that face particular threats and to fight the illegal wildlife trade. In EU international development cooperation, meanwhile, we place a strong emphasis on protecting wildlife and ecosystems to combat poverty and improve livelihoods. EU Development & Cooperation Biodiversity for Life

2 The benefits of conservation for people and development Biodiversity is our life support system The Earth s abundance of species diversity maintains soils, forests and rivers and marine systems on which humans depend for food, feed, fibre and medicine. Healthy ecosystems are better able to withstand pest and disease outbreaks, and protect against natural disasters such as landslides and flooding. Biodiversity loss is a vicious cycle Ecosystem degradation leads to food and fuel scarcity, poverty, civil unrest and conflict, weakened governance, migration and the accelerated plunder of resources. Natural resources underpin economic and social development Good stewardship of natural resources underpins the economic and social outlook for developing countries. Community engagement for improved livelihoods Including local people as active stakeholders in conservation helps to build capacity, creates business opportunities and boosts security, peace and improved governance. The EU Biodiversity Strategy as well as our commitments under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Agenda 2030 s Sustainable Development Goals direct our work. Supporting conservation in developing countries The EU works closely with its partner governments in developing countries to protect their natural heritage. LOCAL LEVEL COUNTRY LEVEL INTERNATIONAL LEVEL Within EU Development Cooperation: Mainstreaming biodiversity in other sectors. Protected area conservation Livelihood improvements Keeping peace and stability in large areas Institutional strengthening Law enforcement and governance Fight against wildlife trafficking International negotiations Protect global ecosystems

3 The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN s 2030 Agenda are at the heart of EU development policy. Our support for conservation contributes to the delivery of Goals 14 and 15, in particular. Goal 14: Life below water Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources Goal 15: Life on land Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss. EU support around the world Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund The EU is one of seven major donors to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), which provides grants to NGOs, civil society organisations and the private sector for the conservation and management of globally significant biodiversity hotspots. The 36 hotspots are home to around 2 billion people, including some of the world s poorest, who rely directly on healthy ecosystems for their livelihood and wellbeing. A 2009 study found that more than 80% of armed conflicts in had occurred in these hotspots. Many were caused or exacerbated by scarcity of natural resources, such as arable land and fresh water. MIKES Minimising the Illegal Killing of Elephants and other Endangered Species (MIKES) aims to generate reliable and impartial data on the status and threats to elephants and other key endangered species (great apes and rhinos in Africa; marine turtles in the Caribbean and Pacific), help improve law enforcement to combat wildlife poaching and trafficking, and establish an emergency response system for sudden increases in illegal killing and trade. The programme is implemented by the CITES secretariat. Quick fact Fished Managed EU Vision for 2050 Wellmanaged marine Our biodiversity and the ecosystem protected areas contain services it provides its natural more than five times the capital are protected, valued total large fish biomass and appropriately restored for including 14 times the their intrinsic value and essential shark biomass compared contribution to human wellbeing with fished areas. and economic prosperity, and so that catastrophic changes caused by the loss of biodiversity are avoided. EU Biodiversity Strategy ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ biodiversity/strategy/

4 Protected Areas For the past 30 years, EU support for conservation in developing countries has focused on enabling our partners to create, manage and maintain key protected areas. Wellmanaged protected areas Reduce rates of habitat loss and maintain species population levels. Preserve ecosystem services that most rural communities depend on, and so contribute to sustainable livelihoods. Provide sustainable economic benefits, through tourism and small and mediumsized enterprises. Contribute to improving security for local communities in areas affected by conflict. Offer the best defence against organised wildlife crime in fragile states. Provide the best chance of enabling biodiversity to survive growing pressures on wildlife and natural resources. Enable water retention and supply downstream areas long into the dry season. Are a reserve of genetic resources, and a potential source of plants and medicines as yet undiscovered. However protected areas depend on sustained political commitment and financial support in order to deliver on environmental, social and economic objectives. In developing countries, protected areas that function effectively mostly depend on external financial support. EU funding for protected areas is provided through bilateral cooperation with partner country governments or through grants to international or local NGOs, which take charge of managing activities. Protected areas are also fundamental to the global response to climate change, storing and capturing carbon in vegetation and soils (mitigation); and offering protection against climate change impacts such as storms and sealevel rise, changes in water supplies, fisheries, disease and agricultural productivity (adaptation). The PPP Model Quick fact One third of the world s 100 largest cities depend on protected areas as a significant source of drinking water. In countries that have limited capacity to manage protected areas, publicprivate partnerships (PPP) have proven successful, contributing to better governance locally. PPP agreements give the implementing partner a stronger and clearer mandate with greater decisional independence and greater administrative and financial flexibility. In effect, the private partner brings a more businesslike approach to park management. Their involvement also acts as an important lever for raising other sources of funding. Better security on the ground and political support at the highest level has stabilised the elephant population in Zakouma National Park, Chad. Rampant poaching from caused the loss of animals. Since 2010, when a PPP was put in place, just a few individuals have been lost and calves are being reported every year.

5 EU support around the world Virunga National Park, DR Congo EU development cooperation has supported the protection and management of Virunga Park since Created in 1925, Virunga is the most biologically diverse protected area in Africa, home to critically endangered mountain gorillas, elephants and lions in a landscape that includes volcanoes, glaciers, lakes and plains. Our support contributes to better infrastructure and security in the park, and a training programme for rangers and park managers. It also led the development of hydroelectricity power generation in the park, encouraging further investment and making a considerable difference to local livelihoods and businesses. Tourism in Virunga has generated millions of euros in revenue, creating jobs and boosting economic activity. 30% of the income generated by the park s activities is allocated to community development programmes. Preserving the paramos, northern Andes In the northern Andes, the paramos (highaltitude ecosystems found above the continuous forest line and below the permanent snowline) are under increasing pressure from the advance of the agricultural frontier. However, their conservation has turned into a challenge at the regional level mainly to preverve their ecosystem functions: over 70% of the Colombian population are estimated to depend on paramo water sources for their drinking water supply, hydropower generation and production systems. An EUfunded project aims to consolidate protected areas and strengthen the capacity of communities, local authorities and local organisations to sustainably manage the ecosystem functions and natural resources of seven paramos in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Leuser ecosystem, Indonesia For over 20 years, the EU has supported the government of Indonesia to manage the Leuser ecosystem 2.6 million hectares of largely undisturbed tropical rainforest in the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. A carbon sink that modulates the region s climate, Leuser is also the only place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos still coexist in an area large enough to guarantee their longterm survival. The EUfunded Leuser Development Programme ( ) supported ecosystem conservation and development, and led to the creation of the Leuser International Foundation, designed to ensure that conservation activities continued after EU direct financial support ended. The EU continues to fund the Aras Napal Elephant Patrol Unit, which works to prevent poaching, illegal logging and encroachment (two of the unit s elephants are adopted mascots of the EU Delegation to Indonesia).

6 Larger than... all of us How can we tackle the global wildlife crisis, halt species and habitat loss, and empower communities to manage natural resources in peace, with stability and the prospect of a better future? The European Commission adopted in 2016 a Communication on the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking, which sets out a comprehensive blueprint for joinedup efforts to fight wildlife crime inside the EU, and for strengthening the EU s role in the global fight against these illegal activities. The plan has three main strands greater enforcement, better cooperation, and more effective prevention. The European Commission also advocates a joinedup approach that brings stakeholders Financing conservation The EU and its member states continue to be the largest providers of official development assistance (ODA), with 58.2 billion in In the 10 years up to 2016, total EU funding for biodiversity through international development cooperation totalled 1.67 billion, rising from 650 million in the first five years ( ), to 1.02 billion in the second ( ). The funding increase reflects the EU s commitment to deliver on the target agreed with international partners at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad in 2012: to double biodiversityrelated financing flows to together, harnessing more and bettertargeted resources for greater impact. To guide this approach, it is publishing a major series of inputs for a strategic approach to wildlife conservation, with volumes on Africa (Larger than Elephants), Asia (Larger than Tigers) and Latin America (Larger than the Amazon). Additional volumes will cover islands, coastal and marine regions in the developing world. These documents will inform EU policy and programming. It is hoped that they will guide partner countries and organisations with programmes and spending decisions. Total 1020M EU development cooperation funding for 2006 to to M biodiversity developing countries to 2015 (compared to a 2010 baseline) and maintain these levels until For its current budgetary period, , the European Commission has earmarked up to 1 billion for biodiversity and ecosystems, including wildlife conservation. The biodiversity component of development cooperation projects in other sectors (agriculture and food security, energy ) will increase that figure.

7 EU support around the world Boosting conservation in EU overseas countries and territories The BEST Initiative promotes conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU s outermost regions (ORs) and overseas countries and territories (OCTs). These 34 political entities cover a total land area equivalent to the EU area and a marine territory that is the largest in the world. They comprise over 150 islands and host more than 20% of the world s coral reefs and lagoons. Islands have a rich biodiversity and are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts and alien invasive species. BEST 2.0 is a new project launched by EU development cooperation to fund 50 smallscale and 5 mediumscale field activities in OCTs. Combating alien invasive species in the Pacific A project to tackle invasive alien species on Pacific Islands has successfully safeguarded several globally endangered species as well as helped to boost crop yields. For years, introduced species including rodents, termites and domestic animals have been eliminating native widlife species and destroying and degrading forests, crops and watercourses in vulnerable island ecosystems. The EUfunded project with Birdlife International permanently removed invasive species from 10 islands. On Fiji, partners including the local community removed all goats and rodents from the island of Monuriki. In New Caledonia, a community group hunted pigs to safeguard their gardens. The project has also sought to protect islands from new invasions. Steps are now being taken with the support of communities, governments and business to safeguard 42 Pacific islands, checking shipments and putting in place other biosecurity controls. Getting tough on wildlife traffickers in Asia The EU continues to invest in efforts to combat the serious and growing problem of wildlife crime and illegal trafficking of wildlife products. To tackle the trade and demand in Asia for key African and Asian wildlife species, a new project was initiated in 2016 to boost law enforcement in countries of South and Southeast Asia. The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species will implement the fiveyear project, which will boost awareness and build capacity with governments and law enforcement agencies. The project will especially target the trade in African elephants, rhinos and pangolins, and Asian elephants, rhinos and tigers.

8 Hydroelectricity power generation in Virunga has encouraged further investment and made a considerable difference to local livelihoods and businesses. Photography Credits Page 2 JeanMarie De Bruyn Sénégal Coastal Page 5 Monica Shah Piura Peru Page 6 Lorenz Andreas Fischer Bangweulu Page 7 Caroline Blanvillain Endangered Polynesian Ground Dove Page 8 virunga.org Virunga Matebe Hydroplant